Favorite place
by charvie
Summary: A little courtship short


The engagement of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy was put in the papers correctly. Mrs. Bennet had been particularly keen on mentionioning this as a contrast to the record of Lydia's marriage. This subject made Elizabeth wince, and gave rise to a desire to physically intercept the sentiments from reaching her intended.

Her most successful attempts at shielding him came in the form of long and rambling walks unencumbered by the cooling temperatures of the late autumn. "I've always observed that a brisk pace can off-set the chill of winter, but I confess, I do not know if this will be the case in Darbyshire where I imagine winters are cooler." She stopped and turned to face him when his answer was not immediately forthcoming. He seemed on the verge of reply but stopped himself with a shake of his head and a small smile. He picked up walking again "Yes, it is cooler there but I have heard it said that there is truly no bad weather only bad clothing. I suspect that once kitted appropriately you will enjoy many walks even in the winter. The landscape takes on a whole new quality when covered in snow, one I hope you will be quite taken with."

"I appear to have become quite taken with every part of Darbyshire I have so far encountered, so I trust you are correct." She had meant this quite flippantly, and only realize belatedly that it was an obvious reference to her affection for the gentleman beside her. Over the course of the first week as betrothed she found her comfort in flirting with him had grown, but there came times where a flirtatious or off handed comment had exposed an entirely different and much more vulnerable spot leaving her embarrassed and shocked at how revealing she had been.

For his part, each unvarnished glimpse of her mind felt like the greatest privilege and he felt it was incumbent upon himself to equal her in honesty and try to draw, more and more, her affection to himself. He brought himself to a stop on the wooded path and looked down at her as she approached him, her eyes roaming from stump to trunk - any other place then his face.

She felt his hand come to her chin to guide it up to see him, and she was compelled by something to return his warm smile. "I should think if I wasn't leaving with the 'jewel of Heartfordshire', I would scarce be able to leave _this place_ at all. To many happy memories. You see over there?" He gestured with his hand and her chin felt the lack. His hand directed her eyes to another part of the path. "There is where you accepted me, finally. And over there" he pointed "is where you finally called out to me by my actual given name." She laughed at that. "And just up and around that way," he continued indicating the path leading to Netherfield, " That is where I came upon you with your hem six inches deep in mud" Now he chuckled at the memory. "There is the Lucas's drawing room where I let myself delight in your presence for the first time." He was looking directly into her eyes now gauging her reaction to the narrow distance between them. "And then of course right here."

Somewhere along the way her embarrassment at her joke had faded and been replaced by a greedy warmth that drew her to him. If she had thought about it at all it would have shocked her how unguarded and hungry her face and posture had become, but she was too innocent, and too caught up with watching him to feel naught but what came naturally. "And what is special about this place?" She asked a little breathless, still not exactly sure where this was going.

"This, my love is the exact spot where I kissed you the first time." With that he took her up in his arms, on hand behind her head, the other quite low on her waist and very gently kissed her.

The slow and gentle contact was entirely insufficient for her she found, and without any forthought brought her arms to encircle his neck and pull him more firmly against her mouth. The action had two surprising and unintended effects, the first was to have him stumble back against a tree and the second was to have her own person - from shoulder to thigh - firmly planted against him, so that she could feel each movement from either of them through her whole self.

This shift had not caused Darcy to break the kiss, but had the effect of spurring his arms to press her more firmly still against him. Eventually feeling himself grow somewhat drunk on her form and assessing that the capacity for rationality was fleeing quickly, he released his grip on her and separated his lips from hers. He may have fallen over if he had removed her body from his. So for his own self preservation he moved only his face to rest his forehead against hers and allow his breathing to calm.

Instead of having released the anxiety of his nearness, Elizabeth found it to only increase in intensity, so much so that she was compelled to speak. "Are you quite shocked with me sir? Heaven knows that I should be shocked with myself…" she trailed off laughter pouring out of her.

"No" he said breathlessly "maybe a little" He amended laughing himself and pulling her to rest her head against his chest. "That was…" he stopped himself because he knew that further explanation would venture towards a topic he could not hope to articulate.

Of course she asked, her curiosity and bravado piqued. "Now sir, I think I should like to know how I've done on a first attempt!"

"I...I could not have dreamed up what that felt like, I would have thought myself entirely too greedy to expect you to return return a fraction of...well… the ardour I feel for you. So shocked yes, but shocked in the best possible way." And then he kissed her again, because he could not pull himself away from her. It never felt like conscious moving toward her lips only falling toward her.

Elizabeth thought to repeat the actions she had taken the last time, but before she could pull herself closer he had switched them around so that her back was against the tree. This time she moved her hands under his coat and felt his muscles tighten under her fingers. The sensation was so overwhelming that she broke the kiss this time just to breath.

He however did not stop. If she was intent to shock him he would return the favor, just a little. He moved his kiss up her jaw and below her ear and down the side of her neck, moving his hands to her hair. Good heavens his fingers had been wanting this for the better part of the year. He then for the first time in his life heard the woman he loved gasp his name in his ear and his instantaneous reaction to move forward was overwhelming. Strong enough to startle him into pullingl back and attempt to regain his composure.

He moved away then and opened his eyes to see hers wider then he had ever seen them. Her breathing was coming in quick gasps. Elizabeth was thoroughly shocked, not by him, no she had room in her mind to only admire him, but shocked with her own body, moving and responding without need of her mind. She was filled with wonder, and curiosity and what she now understood to be desire. She had a name for it now.

Her vision refocused now and she could make out his face. At first she was confused to see him looking anything less than delirious as she felt. He moved to speak and she raised a hand to his lips. She knew what he was about to say and she was in no mood to have him crush these sentiments with propriety. "No apologies, Fitzwilliam. I'll never forgive you if you apologize for that." He lowered his head and smiled at the forest floor. "If you will recall, I have improved my mind with a great deal of reading. A great deal and and a great variety as well. And I would like to tell you something of what I have learned."

"And what is that?"

"Well I had always assumed the poets and the novelist to have exaggerated this," she gestured between their chests. "And today you helped me disprove this theory, so no apologies."

"As you wish my love, but I will request we return to the house, because I fear I may have started something here…" He trailed off and kissed her again, more chastely this time. She then put her hand on his arm and followed him back down the path toward Longborn with only a small backward glance to her new favorite place in the county.


End file.
